Zheng was enlightened. For him who had undergone a hundred battles, his battle experience was incredibly rich and wouldn't be any less even compared to his clone. He immediately understood the mystery of clone Zheng’s Sinflames in this exchange, especially when two broadswords appeared. This Sinflame… was even more miraculous than he imagined.
It took but an instant. The two times Zheng tried to retreat, he would be intercepted by broadswords wreathed in black flames. Now, five had already appeared, left, right, front, back and above. They all formed a five direction blockade against Zheng. No matter how great his power was, he couldn't break them. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't dodge them. The broadswords seemed to have precognanze, able to always know his intentions and force him back to the same position. When the Sinflame tornado reached, Zheng was finally swallowed inside.
After swallowing Zheng, the tornado left the ground and spun an electric drill spinning madly in the air. As it erupted with a shocking suction force, the tornado gathered a horrifyingly high temperature that wasn’t any lower than the surface of the sun. Everything within kilometers of it began to melt and soften, and the ground closest to it had already become bright red magma.
It wasn't enough even with the Omnidirectional Samsara Formation’s protection. Clone Zheng’s power was too terrifying, and the fortified ground wasn't able to withstand it. It seemed that this several hundred meters tall cylindrical pillar battlefield would collapse sooner or later...
Within a second or two of being sucked in, Zheng felt his body being pulled at by enormous forces. His body would be ripped to shreds sooner or later regardless of how resilient his Dragon Transformation was. His body already had blisters and burns. It had to be known that his Dragon Transformation would only feel pain and not be hurt even if it took a direct hit from an artillery shell. It was unexpected that he was already getting burnt within a mere one or two seconds inside the Sinflame tornado. Wouldn't anyone else be incinerated just from getting close to it?
Crimson flames began to surge on Zheng’s body without hesitation. It wasn't one of the manifestations of Light of the Soul, but just a vampire skill. However, it had the peculiar effect of resisting high temperatures. He had tested it out in Resident Evil Apocalypse, except that the black flame then hadn't been as powerful as it was now, capable of liquefying metal and scorching the earth, with nothing that couldn't be melted.
As expected, the Red Flame only persisted for two seconds before being completely burnt and assimilated by the black flames. It was strange, how could flames be burnt? However, that was what had happened. Perhaps, this was what was truly the flames of destruction that could burn anything and everything. Zheng no longer dared hesitate when he saw the Red Flame defeated. The Refined Qi and Magic in his body gathered at his body’s surface, while two streams of energy, one black and one white, appeared in both his palms. When he joined his palms together, the two streams of energy merged into a sphere. The sphere created didn't display the colours black and white however, and was instead a hazy chaotic mass. Countless minute auras continuously distorted and transformed within, as if lightning was streaking within it. Zheng didn't overthink it as he tossed the sphere at the ground. [1]
While in his hands, the sphere was only the size of an egg. However, it immediately grew to the size of a basketball as soon as it escaped his grasp, and it continued to swell up while the reactions and aura within got more and more violent. The sphere burst apart when it hit the ground, the chaotic mass at first of two colours, black and white, before becoming multihued, and finally turning into incandescent radiance before it proceeded to violently explode.
Shockwaves continuously assailed the area, the ground for hundred of meters around pulverised. The scene was more chaotic and indistinct the closer to the center it was, and the messed up ground looked like when Heaven and Earth had been separated, and the elements of earth, water, wind and fire were seething.
The tornado of black flames wasn’t ordinary of course, and apart from the section near the ground vanishing in an instant from this attack, the vast majority of it was merely shaken into dispersing. The five broadswords dispersed into black flames, gathering around clone Zheng once more in the form of that endless sea of fire.
(Ah, I escaped it. It’s just that the consumption of this move is too much. Although it isn’t fighting with all I have like Chaos, Genesis Splitter, its Refined Qi and Magic expenditure is over ten times as much. I’ve lost at least ten percent. I need to use it more prudently.)
Zheng sighed when he broke free of the tornado, the self restorative ability of the Dragon Transformation operating and the not too severe injuries becoming fine after a few breaths of time. At the same time, he used Soru several times and escaped the area of pulverised ground, landing on firm ground.
“No wonder. You really are my original. With just the slight pain from Resident Evil Apocalypse, and that narrow-mindedness of yours, you were able to reach this level. It really is fate. You may truly be the main character of this generation.” Clone Zheng looked at the gradually vanishing center of that chaos, sighing after a while.
“That slight pain?” Zheng was immediately greatly angered, as he had always bore a grudge over this matter. Although clone Zheng had put it unpleasantly, that battle really had been the impetus for him to become strong. The pain from that battle was what had led him to slowly crave power, and slowly become strong, until today, where he had the power to challenge clone Zheng for the title of the strongest. Clone Zheng had relied on pain and hatred as well to become strong. Perhaps, pain and hatred really was the impetus to become strong...
No! Pain and revenge aren't the true impetus to become strong! That was only a superficial strength!
Zheng had long since conquered his heart’s devil, and he had even overcome it by sacrificing his body. His willpower had long since become unshakable, and unable to be corrupted by evil. Although his heart had wavered for a moment, it was still only for a moment. His willpower had immediately decided that there was nothing wrong with what he upheld. It wasn’t like fourth stagers who hadn’t overcome the heart’s devil. They would easily enter the heart’s devil state when their conviction was broken. With how resolute Zheng and clone Zheng’s willpower was, even the illusions created by Adam’s Human Instrumentality Project wouldn’t be able to confuse them. Adam would have to use force to attack them if he wanted to attack. That was why Adam had first intended to absorb everyone around him before looking for the two Zhengs. Adam understood himself and others clearly.
(The so-called pain and hatred is nothing more than being hurt by those people or things dear to you. For example, my comrades and Lori, Yingkong’s memories and elder brother, Heng’s lover Ming Yanwei, or Wangxia’s country. Pain and hatred that is engraved in your bones and etched in your heart can only come when it’s related to hurt from things related to your convictions. It’s only when you’ve endured this pain and hatred that many people will start to madly desire power. So, while it does seem at first glance that possessing power is brought about by pain and hatred, it's actually from upholding your conviction. The deeper your conviction is engraved, the more power you’ll gain after being hurt. My conviction, and his conviction that has completely changed into hatred and madness… which is stronger?)
[1] This ability was created back in Vol 22 Chapter 2-2, after he had become a Cultivator and was thus able to better control Refined Qi and Magic.